20%
Industrial
revolution
10
0
4
2
-10
3
1
2020 – Covid-19
UK GDP shrinks 9.9%
-20
1700
1750
1800
1850
1900
1950
2000
1 1709: The Great Frost
The economy is dragged down as frozen rivers, canals and seaports disrupt trade across Europe
2 1815: The end of the Napoleonic wars at the battle of Waterloo is followed by economic depression. Poor harvests and the Corn Laws push up food prices and clamour for political reform leads to the Peterloo massacre in 1819, and foundation of the Manchester Guardian two years later
3 Post WW1 slump
The biggest downturn of the past two centuries comes after WW1 and the Spanish flu pandemic, which kills more people than the conflict. Growth returns in 1922 but aftershocks lead to the 1926 general strike, which causes another recession
4 Financial crisis
The collapse that follows the banking crisis is the worst since WW2. It begins in 2007–08 and a decade of anaemic recovery, made worse by austerity, follows
20%
Industrial revolution
10
0
4
2
-10
3
1
2020 – Covid-19
UK GDP shrinks 9.9%,
a 300-year record
-20
1700
1725
1750
1775
1800
1825
1850
1875
1900
1925
1950
1975
2000
1 1709: The Great Frost
The economy is dragged down as frozen rivers, canals and seaports disrupt trade across Europe
2 1815: The end of the Napoleonic wars at the battle of Waterloo is followed by economic depression. Poor harvests and the Corn Laws push up food prices and clamour for political reform leads to the Peterloo massacre in 1819, and foundation of the Manchester Guardian two years later
3 Post WW1 slump
The biggest downturn of the past two centuries comes after WW1 and the Spanish flu pandemic, which kills more people than the conflict. Growth returns in 1922 but aftershocks lead to the 1926 general strike, which causes another recession
4 Financial crisis
The collapse that follows the banking crisis is the worst since WW2. It begins in 2007–08 and a decade of anaemic recovery, made worse by austerity, follows